A FIGHT FOR IT ALL. But is it a fight worth fighting? And is there a chance for success? Women still have to choose between a family and career. This is not a choice at all. Woman have fought for their rights for a long time and it is time for the rest to join in.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Argentina Did it---Can We???

One of the most twisted elections occured last year in Argentina. There wasn't any ballots misssing, there weren't any fights, but for the first time a country saw its former first lady become president. Néstor Carlos Kirchner was the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. Who would be better to rule the country after him..his wife of course. Thus in December of 2007, Nestor's wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became President of Argentina. The final tally came. She was victorious over her running mate by over 22 percent. One of the biggest margins Argentina has ever seen. Argentina, in the year 2007, witnessed their first elected female president, first Gentleman of the house, and the first husband and wife power team. Now, United States is in the same situation. We could have the first female president and first Gentleman of the White House. I know I'm ready for this..are you?

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is another one of my powerful woman figures. A devoted wife of 32 years. A mother of 2 children. And a politically qualified individual. She served in the Senate, part of provincial legislature, and was one of the key figures who helped her husband get elected. While she may seem delicate on the oustide, her speeches have been compared to that of Eva Peron, the woman who was dubbed the "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" and was known as Evita." She wasn't a candidate to be reckoned with.

Cristina appealed to suburban working class and the poor. Ironically, she did not win the 3 populous cities of Argentina. "She will face an uphill battle in gaining the confidence of voters in larger urban areas, especially middle and upper-class strongholds." Council of the Americas She appealed to the average working families. She lacked the vote of the middle class but that didn't matter because she won. After she won, some scandals did arise. The United States claimed that there were illegal financing to her campaign summing to about a million dollar. As a referendum, Cristina limited the US ambassadors abiliites. Cristina and even her opposition leaders said that the United States was trying to divide up Latin America. Whatever the scandal was, it definitely has not contributed to Cristina's popularity. Majority of the people have very high hopes for her and her administration.

Her husband, Nestor, paved the way by "steering Argentina out of its worst economic crisis in 2001, when it defaulted on $80 billion in loans." Herald Tribune Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez even helped with the loans. The relationship between Argentina and Venezuela has grown immensely and some claim that the US is watching closely. Now the world is watching as to what Cristina is going to do.

Again the issue of whether her husband paved the way or not was stated. Some claimed that if her husband wasn't president she wouldn't stood a chance. But the reality is that she was successfull on her own without her husband. She was elected into office several times. She was dubbed Queen Christina, because of her strong personality. Whatever the reasons are, she is here today. She is the President. It is up to her to advance Argentina and broaden its influences across the globe. It's simply a new adventure to see how much she can do for her country. Having a former president as her husband is a bonus.

This is what I see happening in November. Hillary Clinton becomes the first female President of the United States. Bill Clinton being swarmed in as the First Gentleman. He stands behind the scenes with Hillary running the show. While yes, of course, they will share opinions with each other, but in reality all couples do that. In addition, we must not forget that Bill Clinton was a smart man so I don't see anything wrong with having 2 powerful individuals influencing this country. Some even see Hillary becoming more powerful than her husband. Maybe that's why some people are scared of her. Whether this historic event happens or not, we now know that it HAS happened elsewhere. So, ony time will tell with the US.

4 comments:

As valid and applicable as this post is to the Clinton campaign, I have a hard time justifying the domination of the presidential office by a single family for too long. I mean you realize that if Hillary Clinton is elected, the White House will see two elite families rule this country for at least 24 years. So for almost a quarter of a century, a Bush or a Clinton will have ultimate authority in how this country is run. Personally, I find that frightening and in complete opposition to the theories behind two term maximums. And the same thing is currently happening in Argentina; not an ideal situation for any democracy.

Oh I surely reailze what you mean.I guess some people want change..thats where Obama comes in..and others want to stick with what they know. But personally I feel Hilary's presidency is going to be different than that of Bill. I dont feel that she has the "personality" that Bill had. I think she's even more powerful than he was. But again..its going to be an interesting election.

Major minor makes a good point. I think that placing Hillary as this female figurehead can be problematic, because it puts Hillary in a very odd position as a candidate (and I kind of touched upon this once in a post). On one hand, you want her status as a female to be an empowering thing, since this nation has been dominated by males as the president for so long. However, you also sort of don't want to utilize her female status as a factor, because it only differentiates her from the male candidates and also minimizes her own worth as a potential president on the same level as all of the other candidates.